THE leading frozen food company Simplot has debuted its frozen vegetable series "Create a meal" in China this month.

Simplot claims to pick its vegetables, clean and freeze them all within one day so as to retain most of their freshness. The products can be kept for up to 18 months in freezers and the company insists there are no preservatives.

Each of the five products launched in China is comprised of a combination of vegetables and a bag of sauce, from aromatic Sichuan style curry and Thai sweet and sour to tomato and seafood sauces.

The vegetables should be cooked in hot oil and the sauces added. Sausages, meat or seafood can also be added.

Cai Meiqin, a nutritionist at the Shanghai Second Medical University, said a person should eat five or more servings of vegetables a day and the vegetable ought to be diversified.

Teh-han Chow, managing director for the Greater China region of the company, said the "Create a meal" series provided Chinese with a way to have more diversified meals within just three to five minutes.

"The taste of frozen vegetables can never compete with fresh ones and I will try them when I don't have enough time to cook," said a local citizen surnamed Chen after trying the Simplot products.

The American-based company began opening vegetable processing plants in China in the mid 1980s. It supplies French fries to McDonald's and KFC in China.

(Star News)